


sooner or later, we hasten home

by Mayarene Rose (Paradise_of_Mary_Jane)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Character Death, Day 4: Music, Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M, but like he gets better, orpheus au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradise_of_Mary_Jane/pseuds/Mayarene%20Rose
Summary: “I am old and very, very tired of playing the gods’ game Yuuri. Perhaps it is a trick of the gods and perhaps not, I’ll never know. Let them play their games and let us live our lives. I know that I love you and will continue to do so, if you will allow me.”or the Orpheus and Eurydice AU with a happy ending.





	sooner or later, we hasten home

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think this is what the prompt called for but I zeroed in on the word 'music' and just sort of... ran with it, screaming and flailing. To be fair, Yuuri _does_ play the lyre version (I don't know if it's possible to even have a lyre version but just go with it) of Yuri on Ice, among other things.
> 
> This is inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but like, happier because the Ancient Greeks are too obsessed with tragedy. For those who don't know the myth, I put a summary of it in the end notes.

Viktor ends up walking through the entire forest, wandering too far from his tree, in search of the beautiful music. The music echoes through the air, carried by the aurae. It echoes across Viktor’s soul, making his heart flutter in his chest in a way it hasn’t for decades. He finds it in the figure of a man, sitting by the stream, absently plucking at his lyre.

There are nymphs all around him, hidden in their own trees or flowers, watching the man and pretending that they aren’t, preferring to hide in the shadows instead of professing their love. Viktor however, is nothing if not bold; he takes a silent step closer and closer. The man is beautiful, face utterly serene as he plucks at his lyre, gracing all the forest with his heavenly tunes.

“Such beautiful music you make,” Viktor says, breathless. “Truly your hands have been touched by Apollo himself.”

The man’s head snaps up and his eyes widen when he sees Viktor.

“V-Viktor! I--Uh--”

“You know who I am,” Viktor says, delighted. The man nods nervously.

“I have seen you dance,” he says, cheeks a burning red. “When the maenads come, you dance with them sometimes. It is the loveliest thing I have ever seen.”

Viktor claps his hands, delighted. He kneels in front of the man, taking him in. The man has stopped playing, which is a great loss, but his eyes are on Viktor, which is a much greater consolation. He is not quite as fond of dancing with the maenads as he had been in his youth, but he would dance with them for another eon if it meant it would keep the man’s eyes on him.

“Your music is the loveliest thing I’ve ever heard,” Viktor says. “Greater than anything, although you must forgive me because I do not know your name.”

“Yuuri,” the man blurts out. “My name is Yuuri.”

"Tell me then, Yuuri, what is it you’re playing? It is not a song I’ve ever heard before.”

“Oh-uh it is nothing. I was merely trying things out. Nothing of importance.”

“It sounded incredibly important from the way you have played it.”

“It is nothing. Merely, a song I have been trying to make.”

“What is it about?”

“”Me.” Yuuri looks down, face a lovely shade of scarlet. “Don’t be mistaken, I have not lived a life worthy of songs or epics, I am not a hero nor a great king, quite the opposite actually, but… Music has lost all its joy for me and I had thought… What do I know better than myself? As I said, it is nothing of importance.”

“On the contrary, I think it is of great importance. We have many songs about heroes and so few about bards.” Viktor takes Yuuri’s hand in his. “Will you play it for me? I have crossed the entire forest just to hear your music. Perhaps I can dance to it as payment.”

“Surely there are better musicians out there. Pichit perhaps, or Christophe. I’m afraid I’m not very good and definitely not worthy of your dancing.”

“Yuuri,” Viktor says. He takes Yuuri’s hand into his own, running gentle circles on his palm. “Your music has made my heart and emotions so tangible and real that it feels as if I could touch them with my fingers. I’ve no doubt that if you wished, you could split apart heaven and earth with your music, sway the soul of any creature, bend all the gods to your will. Compared to that, my dancing is nothing but folly.”

“It is anything but!”

“And neither is your music,” Viktor says. “Please. Allow me to dance to it. It would give me the greatest joy.”

“Wi-Will it really?”

Viktor nods eagerly. “It will,” he says.

“Then I shall play for you.” Yuuri takes the in his lyre hand and closes his eyes, mouth opening in a shaky breath. His fingers ghost a touch over the strings, producing gentle notes, and Viktor feels his spirit soar. He raises his arm and sways to the music. His body had not felt so light in ages; dance had never before felt so easy.

 

 

\--

  
Viktor’s taken to remaining by Yuuri’s side at every possible moment. Yuuri never tires of playing for him, it seems, and Viktor never tires of dancing for him. It is a wonderful relationship that they have. If Viktor were a better nymph, a creature who knew how to be grateful for the things he already has, he’d be content. He’d be happy for Yuuri’s time, his company, and his lovely music.

Of course, because he is Viktor, he longs for _more_.

“Tell me truthfully Yuuri,” Viktor says, laying down beside Yuuri after dancing and laughing another day away. Yuuri had sung while playing this time, just as Viktor was thinking he could not be more in love with him. “Are you Apollo in disguise?” He is only half-joking.

Yuuri smothers a laugh. “I am not,” he says.

“Erato, then. You hold the same lyre in your hands.”

“I would rather ask if you are Terpsichore,” Yuuri shoots back playfully. “Your dancing can rival that of any god.” **1**

Yuuri’s face had turned a fascinating and brilliant shade of red. Viktor finds that he cannot look away from it. He finds that he cannot look away from most of Yuuri’s expressions.

“I am not,” he says slowly, plastering a smile onto his face. “But Aphrodite had come down to me as a child. She blessed me to be the most beautiful dancer in all the land.” Although Viktor’s been thinking of it more of a curse, over the years. He does not say this. It would not do well to tempt the gods. Yuuri frowns as if he sees right through Viktor’s smile.

“You are beautiful,” he says. “You do not need a goddess’ blessing for that.”

“Ah, but you cannot know that, can you?” It is something Viktor’s always wondered about. His dancing feels too unreal sometimes, a mere glamour of a goddess instead of genuine beauty.

“Apollo blessed me as well.” Yuuri looks down at his harp. “He came to me as a child, saying that he had come all the way from Olympus to listen to my music. He must’ve made some mistake of course, and I tried to tell him as such, but he touched my forehead and blessed me. He told me that if I played, all will listen so that no one will miss my skill. That is the only reason anyone listens to me. That is the only reason _you_ listen to me.”

“I listen to you because I wish to,” Viktor says. “A god’s blessing helped me find you, and I am forever grateful, but I continue to listen because you are beautiful.”

“You don’t mean that,” Yuuri says.

And perhaps he doesn’t. He and Yuuri are similar in that respect; blessed by the gods with beauty and cursed with uncertainty. Blessings are tricky things.

“I do.” Viktor says on instinct, taking Yuuri’s hand into his own. It had been a long, slow process, but Yuuri has been reaching out to Viktor more and more. “Your music, it has changed.”

“It has,” Yuuri says. “I’ve changed it to--I have changed it to include you.”

“But is it not a song about you?” Viktor doesn’t even try to not pretend that he’s flattered. Does not try to contain his giddiness and utter adoration. He is in love, be it fact or a fiction created by the gods, and he is not afraid of it.

“You have done a lot for me,” Yuuri says. “I’ve grown much since I have met you.”

"So have I,” Viktor says.

“You told me that I am beautiful but you are beautiful as well, Viktor. You can never be anything _but_ beautiful,” Yuuri says. “You have shown me what love is, what it truly is. You dance as if you are in love. That can never be anything but beautiful.”

“I am,” Viktor says. His heart seems to be trying to beat out of his chest. Let the gods’ blessings be damned, he will love this man and love him and love him for all time. “In love, that is.”

“Oh.” Yuuri’s eyes turn ever more downcast. He leans away from Viktor, looking terribly disappointed and Viktor’s heart breaks. This must be what it feels like to die. “They are very lucky then, to share your affections.”

“I don’t think they do.” Viktor’s voice catches. He doesn’t have Yuuri’s lovely voice, but all he has, he will offer to Yuuri. Yuuri’s eyes finally finds Viktor’s and they are an odd mix of furious and melancholic.

“Then they are a fool.”

“Why do you always such cruel things about yourself, Yuuri? If you cannot return my affections, I beg you to at least see your own loveliness.”

Yuuri's head snaps up. His eyes are as wide as moons. “What?”

“You are the loveliest creature I have ever known and--”

“You were talking of me? When you said…” Yuuri’s voice is disbelieving, for some reason, almost terrified.

“Of course I was speaking of you. Who else would I be speaking of?”

“It’s a trick,” Yuuri tells him. “A mere trick of Apollo. You do not really love me. How could you? I am merely me and you are the greatest dancer in the land. Apollo is very fond of playing tricks on me.”

“I am old and very, very tired of playing the gods’ game Yuuri. Perhaps it is a trick of the gods and perhaps not, I’ll never know. Let them play their games and let us live our lives. I know that I love you and will continue to do so, if you will allow me.”

“You will wake up one day and--”

“Let us leave the future to the future. Please Yuuri, allow me this chance.”

“I--I cannot deny you anything. I think that perhaps I love you too.”

Viktor feels a gentle smile cross his lips, as gentle as Yuuri’s own music. As Yuuri's own heart.

“May I kiss you, Yuuri?”

Yuuri nods. He leans forward and presses his lips to Viktor’s, short and chaste. It is sweeter than any fruit, no doubt better than any nectar or ambrosia.

 

 

\--

  
Hymen **2**   had come to their wedding but did not bless their union. Merely cried in a corner about his lost love. Viktor paid it no heed. Hymen had seemed unable to bless anyone’s marriages these days. Not since he has lost his own love.

“I will not bless this union,” Hymen says, eyes dark with tears and face drawn with grief. A wedding he does not bless is a wedding doomed, everyone seems to say. An old wives' tale, no doubt.

"I do not care,” Viktor says. “This love is mine.”

“Love is not real,” Hymen insists. “It fades. It breaks into heartbreak and tears and leaves you broken. You cannot imagine that kind of grief.”

“I do not care,” Viktor says. “Your pain will not take this away from me.” He walks away because he does not believe in the gods’ power but he knows better than to offend them.

"It will shatter,” Hymen calls out. “It will shatter and you will be left broken.”

It doesn’t matter. The god’s words do not matter. Yuuri is his. He does not needs a god’s blessing for that. Let the gods play their games, and let Viktor and Yuuri lose themselves in love.

Yuuri plays his songs with laughter in his eyes and Viktor dances to them, more full of life than he had ever felt. He dances and everyone’s eyes are once again on him and for the first time in an eternity, Viktor actually feels _alive_.

That should have been the end of that, should have been the happy ending they both deserved, except Viktor just had to step on that damn snake.

(Viktor knows better than to offend the gods but when he does, he never would have imagined the curse would fall on his Yuuri. He’d take all his words back if it would stop the grief rolling from Yuuri’s skin.)

He is on his deathbed and he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is nothing to be done. Had he been closer to his tree, he might have found a way; they might have found a cure. But he is an entire forest away and it causes him too much pain to move.

Yuuri had already tried.

“I’ll get you back--I’ll pray to Apollo--I’ll find something--” Yuuri says, frantic. Days or weeks or months could have passed and Viktor would not know, too lost in a haze of pain and Yuuri's terrified eyes.

“Yuuri my love.” Viktor summons all the strength he has to raise a hand and cups Yuuri’s face. “Stay with me. Please.” 

“I’ll find you a cure, just give me time--”

“It’s my time, Yuuri. We cannot fight the gods.” The gods who are so caught up in their own hearts and pains and grief and love that they seem to forget everyone around them.  
Gods are men, Viktor thinks, and they do not deserve their power. Viktor is very tired of losing to them.

“I thought we already did,” Yuuri whispers.

“Let this pass, Yuuri. I want to see you smile again.”

“I won’t let them take you from me. I won’t.”

“Stay with me Yuuri,” Viktor pleads. “Grant me this one gift.”

“Viktor--”

“ _Please._ ”

Yuuri lets out a shaky breath. There are tears streaming down his face. Viktor sorely wishes that he could wipe them off his face but it’s taking all of his strength just to hold on.

“Alright,” Yuuri says. “I’ll stay.”

Viktor doesn’t ask Yuuri to be happy after him, though he sorely wishes he could. He doesn’t have the strength to dance anymore, doesn’t have anything he could offer Yuuri. He tries for a smile and finds that he can’t. 

“I love you,” he whispers, before the world goes dark.

 

* * *

* * *

 

When Viktor’s eyes flutter to a close, Yuuri screams. In despair and in anger. He doesn’t remember calling for Apollo but he feels a familiar weight on his shoulder, a presence just a little too suffocating. Perhaps he does, perhaps he doesn’t. Perhaps Apollo decided to heed his prayers a second too late. _It doesn’t matter._

“Bring him back,” Yuuri says. His voice is hoarse from screaming. There is no life in it. It has been drained out of him.

“I’m sorry Yuuri,” a familiar voice says. Yuuri tenses.

“You don’t get to use her face,” he says tightly. “You don’t--Not after--Show your true self for once.”

“I thought you’d like a familiar face,” Minako’s voice says. “You know I cannot show you my true face.”

“Then don’t,” Yuuri says. “I don’t care. I don’t--Bring him back.”

“I can’t.”

“ _I prayed to you,_ ” Yuuri hisses. “Every single day when he was ill. I prayed to you, I gave you all that I had, I would have offered you anything, and you did not answer me. You told me I had your favor.”

“I could not answer,” Minako’s voice says. Yuuri refuses to look into Apollo and see Minako mouthing those words. “You were doomed the moment Hymen refused to bless your union. I could not save him even if I wanted to.”

“You are the god of healing--”

“But,” Apollo interrupts. “I do know a way to find him back, if you are willing.”

“I will do anything.”

“I can guide you to the Underworld. Bargain with Hades for your lover’s soul.”

Yuuri snorts. There is a part of him that screams about the madness of it all, of even considering stepping into the Underworld. The part of him that is wrapped up in so much fear and hesitation tells him it is impossible. Viktor’s cold, lifeless hand, held against Yuuri’s own, tells him to find a way to make it possible.

“And what do I have to offer the lord of the Underworld?”

The hand on his shoulder disappears and suddenly, Viktor’s voice echoes across the small room; the sound of it makes Yuuri’s heart ache.

_“Your music has made my heart and emotions so tangible and real that it feels as if I could touch them with my fingers. I’ve no doubt that if you wished, you could split apart heaven and earth with your music, sway the soul of any creature, bend all the gods to your will.”_

Yuuri sucks in a sharp breath, blinking back tears. He takes his lyre gently into his hand; a thing Apollo had crafted for him after he had found Yuuri, hiding out in Minako's back room as he tried to create beauty with clumsy fingers and a lyre that Minako had passed down onto him. It had brought Viktor to him and perhaps, it might bring him back.

“We will be together again,” Yuuri says.

" _Find me, Yuuri,_ ” Viktor whispers. “ _I await you._ ”

Yuuri whirls around. The door is left ajar and there is a golden path, leading straight into the woods.

He is alone.

 

\--

  
Viktor had always told Yuuri that he is a great musician, never fails to shower him with praises. Many people agree with him. Yuuri is a known musician throughout the land. Yuuri has never really managed to convince himself that it was real.

Apollo had blessed him as a child, when Yuuri’s fingers were only beginning to get used to the cut of the string. Everything after that had felt like a fraud, a lie. Who can fight against a god’s blessing? Yuuri has no merit of his own, only Apollo’s shadow, hanging over his head.

“ _Let the gods be gods._ ” Viktor’s voice is softer than a breeze. Yuuri desperately latches onto it. “ _Let them play their games. We can only do our best and that is what you have always done, my love._ ”

“I wish you were really here,” Yuuri whispers.

The path Apollo had led him to is long and winding. The breeze is a gentle companion, keeping him cool against the scorching sun. At the end of it, Yuuri finds a great big boulder blocking his path. 

"What am I to do?”

“ _Play for me, Yuuri. And I shall dance to your song._ ”

Yuuri kneels in front of the boulder and raises his lyre, letting his fingers guide the gentle notes through the air. Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuri can almost see Viktor’s long silver hair darting about, dancing to the music. Stay with me, Yuuri pleads through the song, and never leave. He can almost see Viktor’s arm extend, reaching out to him.

“I need to find him,” Yuuri says, desperation in his voice. “ _Please.”_

The rock splits open, water leaking out of the cracks as if it were weeping.

“ _Find me,_ ” Viktor whispers. Yuuri rises, wipes the tears from his eyes, and carries on.

  

 

\--

  
He finds someone with Christophe’s face standing by a murky river.

“You are a long way from where you’re supposed to be, mortal,” not-Christophe says. He stands at the river’s edge, next to a boat holding about a hundred people. A dark hood is draped over his head.

“Take me across the river,” Yuuri says. “I need to see Hades.”

“And full of disrespect, too.”

“What do you wish? I will give it to you. Just take me across the river.” Yuuri sounds too desperate, even to his own ears. He doesn’t particularly care.

“Only the dead may enter the Underworld,” not-Christophe says. “Is that what you wish to be, little mortal?”

Yuuri fights the urge to run, clutching the lyre close to his chest. He needs to get to the Underworld. He _needs_ to. In this, he cannot fail. Not-Christophe stares at him, lips upturned in an amused smile.

“You look like my friend,” Yuuri says. “Why?”

“Gods cannot show their true forms to mortals.”

“I know that.” Yuuri waves him off impatiently. “But why him?”

Not-Christophe shrugs. “Why not? I understand him best. His voice is suited to carry my own.”

“It must be very lonely in the Underworld, with only the dead for company. I can’t imagine you like that. Let me bargain with you.”

The smile turns more amused. Yuuri forces himself to hold his ground and not run away. “And what do you have to offer, little mortal?”

“A song. I will play you a song that will let you seduce people here to join you and keep you company and in exchange, you take me across the river.”

Yuuri likes to believe that he didn’t imagine the spark of interest in not-Christophe’s eye.

“And why would I want company?”

“Because Christophe carries your voice and he always works best in company.”

A pause. Not-Christophe laughs. A blush creeps up Yuuri’s cheeks and he fears that his grip may actually break his lyre.

“Go on then little mortal,” not-Christophe says. “Play me a song.”

Yuuri gently sits down on the hard rock, crossing his legs. He strums his lyre and sees an image in his mind. It’s an early memory, when he and Christophe and Pichit were apprenticing together. They had been given a day’s reprieve and the three of them had decided to go swimming in the nearby pond. He remembers Christophe’s body, the way he had held himself, free of clothes, water dripping down his skin. He had touched himself, fingers gently splaying on skin, from his arms, down to his chest, then to his stomach and down and and down and down, utterly shameless. Yuuri had been embarrassed enough for the two of them but he remembers how the people had screamed in delight. **3**

Yuuri looks up to find not-Christophe staring at him, open-mouthed.

“You will give me that song?” he demands.

“I will,” Yuuri says. “If you grant me passage to the Underworld.”

Not-Christophe looks him straight in the eye and Yuuri knows, without a doubt, that he has won.

 

 

\--

  
Songs, it turns out, are nice offerings. Yuuri supposes that creatures of the Underworld rarely get to hear music play. He passes through the souls of the dead. He plays gentle notes on his harp as he follows the path Apollo had laid out for him, and none stop him. 

At least, until he catches a glimpse of the three-headed dog.

There is a fair-haired boy with great bat-like wings standing guard over it, a sword with black steel at his hip and a furious expression on his face.

“You!” he says. “You may have tricked Charon with your music but you will not sway me. You are not allowed here, mortal!”

“I will speak with Hades,” Yuuri says. His nerves are starting to settle; not disappear but settle. He is getting used to the constant state of terror.

“You are not allowed! I am the guard to his realm!”

Yuuri blinks. “Hades allows a child to guard his realm?”

That had apparently been the wrong thing to say because suddenly, there is a sword tip pressed against his chin. He feels his soul being drawn towards it.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t strike you down right now and get rid of your ugly face?”

“We are already in the Underworld,” Yuuri says. “You won’t get rid of me by striking me down.”

The boy screams and this is the moment that Yuuri will die, he thinks, except he doesn’t. The boy withdraws his sword.

“You are a fool,” he tells Yuuri. “Why are you in the Underworld?”

“I wish to bargain with Hades,” Yuuri says, “to get my husband back.”

“Hades does not release souls.”

“I do not intend to keep him forever,” Yuuri says. “But I will not have him ripped away from me so suddenly because a god refused to smile at our wedding.”

The boy laughs, a harsh, sardonic sound.

“Fool,” he mocks. “You are a fool and I wish to see your foolishness reap its benefits. I will accompany you to Hades.”

“You will?”

“I will,” the boy nods. He points in the three-headed dog’s direction. “It is a straight path. You just have to pass Cerberus. Tell me mortal, are you foolish enough to-- _What are you doing?_ ”

Yuuri marches towards the dog, fingers already flying across the strings. He thinks of a much smaller dog he had when he was a boy, sitting on his lap, playing with his hands and nuzzling his snout against Yuuri’s face. He thinks of a childhood spent running around fields, full of laughter and life as a small dog leapt into his arms, so full of love that Yuuri felt a part of his soul crumble and disappear when the dog had died.

The three-headed dog is asleep within minutes.

The fair-haired boy runs to him and Yuuri catches a glimpse of his disbelieving expression.

“How did you--Cerberus has the speed of a puma, the ferocity of a tiger, the cunning of a scorpion--” **4**

“Cerberus is a dog,” Yuuri interrupts. “And all dogs are the same. They just wish to be loved. Now. Take me to Hades.”

“ _I’m here, Yuuri,_ ” Viktor says. His voice has gotten fainter the closer Yuuri got to him. “ _Find me._ ”

The boy takes him to Hades.

\--

The palace of Hades is gloriously dark. He finds the Lord of the Dead--a large man with a balding head--sitting on a throne made of bone and to his side, chattering happily without a care in the world is--

“Viktor!” Yuuri surges forward around the same time Viktor does, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. Lord Hades had risen from his throne and had raised his hand. Viktor opens his mouth to say something but Yuuri cannot hear it, perhaps because of the gods magic, or perhaps because of the roaring in Yuuri’s ears. Hades looks murderous.

“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM OUT OF HERE, NOT LET HIM IN!” He points a shaking finger to the fair-haired boy.

“I didn’t expect him to defeat Cerberus!” the boy says defensively.

“HE DEFEATED MY DOG?” Hades turns the full force of his anger towards Yuuri. “How did you do it, eh? Were you blessed by Zeus? Poseidon perhaps? What weapons did you use?”

“I played a song,” Yuuri mutters. Viktor looks delighted.

Hades’ face turns redder with anger. He points a shaking finger towards Yuuri and Yuuri has to force himself not to take a step back.

“YOU WILL NOT GET WHAT YOU CAME FOR! THE DEAD SHALL STAY IN THE UNDERWORLD AND--”

“Enough!” The door opens to reveal a woman with a long, bright yellow robe. Her hair is pulled up in a tight bun, her expression severe. Hades falls still and silent as she takes her slow steps towards her throne. The entire Underworld seems to be holding their breath for fear of offending her. She sits on her throne, a regal queen, and turns to Yuuri. “What do you have to offer us, mortal?”

“You know why I’m here,” Yuuri says quietly. “I wish to get my husband back.”

“And what will you give in exchange for his soul?”

Yuuri doesn’t say anything, merely sits gently on the ground and plucks gentle notes from his lyre. It is the first song Viktor had ever heard him play, even if it is not the first song Yuuri had ever played for Viktor. A song filled with gentle sounds and harsh notes, woven tight into a ball of fear and anxiety until it slowly unwinds, until slowly, love creeps in through the gaps, the love that has always been there, always been around Yuuri, just waiting to be let in.

It had taken Viktor for Yuuri to realize all the love, all the beauty that surrounds him. Yuuri is not willing to let any of that go. Not yet. It is not time for that yet.

“Gods know of love, too,” Yuuri says softly as his song comes to an end. He blinks past the tears in his eyes; there will be time enough for that later, “do they not?”

“Let the nymph go,” the woman says.

“Persephone!” Hades’ voice is softer now, wavering slightly at the edges. “ You know that I cannot just allow people to walk in here and take the souls of their loved ones. Death is permanent.”

“We are gods,” Persephone says. “We know better than anyone that there is no such thing as permanent.”

Hades scowls but does not answer. Persephone turns towards Yuuri. “I allowed Viktor’s voice to guide you through the Underworld. You must make the journey back without it. You will walk out the way you came and the nymph will follow. Do you believe he will follow?”

Yuuri’s heart tightens. He turns back to Viktor, who seems to be reaching towards Yuuri. Stay with me, Yuuri had asked.

“I do,” he tells Persephone.

“Then your faith will guide you. Do not look back and do not lose faith.”

“My lady,” Yuuri says. “Why are you allowing this?”

“Yes Persephone. We cannot allow--”

“Silence,” Persephone hisses at her husband. “Gods are generous creatures, Yuuri,” she says, “to those who are bold enough to ask.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

“Go,” Persephone says. “Trust in your love.”

“Stay with me Viktor,” Yuuri says. “Stay with me.”

He doesn’t wait for Viktor to answer. He turns on his heel, steels his heart, and begins the journey back home.

 

\--

 

The walk back is the most excruciating experience that Yuuri has ever gone through.

Stay with me Viktor, he says over and over and over again. Please.

Viktor has always been light-footed, but it was never more evident until now. Yuuri’s ears strain to hear the soft rustles, the gentle fall of stones, footsteps. He hears nothing but silence. Don’t look back, he tells himself. Stay with me Viktor, Stay with me.

Don’t look back. Don’t look back.

Yuuri absently plays his lyre along the way, fingers moving of their own accord. Stay with me, he murmurs. Never leave me, please. It’s a mantra and a prayer and a plea and Yuuri has never asked for anything more than he has asked for this.

Don’t leave me Viktor.

The face of Christophe is not there when he returns to the ferry, only a silent hooded figure. If Yuuri looks close enough, he thinks he can make out the outline of a rotting corpse. He does his best not to look.

“Are you there Viktor?” Yuuri murmurs, as the ferry moves through the dark, murky river. “I know you are. You always listen when I speak, don’t you, so please listen to me. I need to know you’re listening to me. I played a song for the ferryman to get here. He had Christophe’s face so I played him something I knew Christophe would like and he did. He let me pass. I bargained with the ferryman and I won. I will do it, Viktor. I will do anything, find any way to have you again. I will swallow down all my fears and all my anxieties and all my tears if it means we can be together. I swear Viktor, I will find a way. Just tell me you’ll stay. Tell me you wish to stay.”

There is no answer, only silence. Yuuri furiously blinks back his tears. There will be time for them later. Now, he needs to be strong.

The boat docks and Yuuri doesn’t hesitate in stepping out.

“Stay with me,” he murmurs, walking towards the light. One step further, he tells himself. One step further brings him another step closer. He is nearly home. He sees the familiar outline of the forest in which he had grown, the forest where he had met Viktor. Where he had learned how to love.

Stay with me. Let me have this Viktor and stay with me for as long as you wish.

His feet hit the cool grass and Yuuri collapses against it and finally, finally, he lets the tears fall. He doesn’t dare look back. He can’t. He doesn’t need a promise to a goddess to do that. He does not think he could bear it if he did look back and find only emptiness. The journey was long but it had given Yuuri something to go to; he does not know if he could bear to come back empty-handed.

Strong arms wrap around him and Yuuri feels his breath catch in his throat.

“Yuuri,” a familiar voice says. “I’m here my Yuuri. I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1Erato: muse of love poetry; her symbol is the cithara, a greek type of lyre, which is the lyre Yuuri is carrying. These two have zero connection with each other but I thought it would be pretty cool. Like symbolically. Terpischore: muse of dance; her symbol is the lyre. Return.
> 
> 2 Hymen, or Hymeneaus, is the god of weddings. He attended Orpheus and Eurydice's wedding but was sullen and silent throughout, thus bringing bad omens for the future of the newlyweds. Return
> 
> 3 This is based off Chris' SP which, according to the Blu-Ray vol.3 booklet, is based off a skater taking a shower... Oh Chris. Return.
> 
> 4Logically speaking, the word puma doesn't even _exist_ in this time period, nor does that animal live anywhere near Europe, and tigers in greek mythology are completely different mythical creatures, but please allow me this moment to mock my smol, angry son for his poor life choices. Return.
> 
> For those who don't know: Orpheus is a son of Apollo and the greatest musician in all of Greece. He marries a nymph named Eurydice and all is well, until Eurydice steps on a snake and dies. Orpheus, in his grief, journeys across the land, playing sad songs until he finds himself in the Underworld to bargain with Hades for Eurydice's soul. No one stops him because they find themselves swayed by his music. He convinces Hades (actually in most versions it's Persephone he convinces who then in turn convinces Hades) to release Eurydice's soul on the condition that Eurydice will walk behind him the entire journey back and he cannot turn to look at her until the two of them are safely back in the mortal world. Of course, because this is greek mythology, he turns back a moment too early, just in time to see Eurydice say a final "Farewell." He wanders around Greece after that, consumed by grief. Eventually, he dies a sad, lonely life, ripped apart by the maenads.
> 
> I am physically incapable of writing Victuuri angst so like, none of that sad endings.
> 
> I did way more research for this fic than is strictly necessary and it was a pain to code but I'm ridiculously happy about it. Come say hi on [tumblr](http://katsuki-nikifcrov.tumblr.com) if you want and let us love Katsuki Yuuri together :DD


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